Carnival Corporation (NYSE:CCL) Given Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Key Points

• Carnival shares carry a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating from 26 analysts, with 20 buy ratings, five holds and one strong buy. The average 12-month price target is about $34.94.
• The stock rose 2.6% as investors reacted to positive commentary and recent analyst actions, including Loop Capital’s new $36 buy target and several upgrades from other firms.
• Recent fundamentals have been solid: Carnival beat quarterly EPS expectations, posted revenue above estimates, and saw revenue rise 6.1% year over year. The company also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.15 per share, yielding about 1.9% annualized.

Shares of Carnival Corporation (NYSE:CCL - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty-six brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $34.9429.

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on CCL shares. Loop Capital started coverage on shares of Carnival in a research report on Monday, June 1st. They set a "buy" rating and a $36.00 price objective for the company. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Carnival from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. HSBC upgraded shares of Carnival from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $33.60 to $30.10 in a research report on Monday, March 30th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Carnival from $38.00 to $35.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Finally, Freedom Capital upgraded shares of Carnival to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd.

Carnival Trading Up 2.6%

Shares of NYSE CCL opened at $30.90 on Wednesday. Carnival has a 52-week low of $22.58 and a 52-week high of $34.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a current ratio of 0.30. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $27.03 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $28.21. The stock has a market cap of $38.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 2.32.

Carnival (NYSE:CCL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, March 27th. The company reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.18 by $0.02. Carnival had a net margin of 11.48% and a return on equity of 26.92%. The company had revenue of $6.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.13 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.13 earnings per share. Carnival's revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Carnival will post 2.22 EPS for the current year.

Carnival Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th were paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 18th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. Carnival's dividend payout ratio is currently 26.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Carnival

In related news, insider Bettina Alejandra Deynes sold 43,058 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.10, for a total transaction of $1,209,929.80. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 69,238 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,945,587.80. This represents a 38.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Sir Jonathon Band sold 11,988 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.19, for a total transaction of $313,965.72. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 52,601 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,377,620.19. This represents a 18.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 55,058 shares of company stock worth $1,524,195. 7.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Carnival by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 128,133,282 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,913,190,000 after buying an additional 368,445 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Carnival by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 48,074,173 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,468,185,000 after buying an additional 704,433 shares during the last quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC grew its holdings in shares of Carnival by 0.8% during the third quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 36,109,629 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,043,929,000 after buying an additional 291,864 shares during the last quarter. Causeway Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Carnival by 9.6% during the third quarter. Causeway Capital Management LLC now owns 31,912,001 shares of the company's stock valued at $922,576,000 after buying an additional 2,783,927 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Carnival by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 29,450,412 shares of the company's stock valued at $896,104,000 after buying an additional 683,311 shares during the last quarter. 67.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Carnival News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Carnival this week:

• Positive Sentiment: News that Carnival may beat second-quarter earnings estimates is supporting the stock, as investors look for another quarter of solid revenue and profit growth. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Lower oil prices after a U.S.-Iran peace agreement are easing fuel-cost pressure on cruise lines, which can improve margins for Carnival and peers. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Easing shipping-route risk is also helping sentiment around Carnival, since fewer geopolitical disruptions could support bookings and reduce uncertainty for the travel sector. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Several market commentary pieces continue to highlight Carnival as a notable leisure stock ahead of earnings, but they do not add a new company-specific catalyst. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Broader market weakness has been mixed, but Carnival’s gains suggest investors are favoring the cruise trade over the softer index backdrop today. Article Title

About Carnival

Carnival Corporation NYSE: CCL is a global cruise operator that provides leisure travel services through a portfolio of passenger cruise brands. The company's core business is operating cruise ships that offer multi-night voyages and associated vacation services, including onboard accommodations, dining, entertainment, spa and wellness offerings, casinos, youth programs, and organized shore excursions. Carnival markets cruise vacations to a broad range of consumers, from value-focused travelers to premium and luxury segments, through differentiated brand positioning and onboard experiences.

Its operating structure comprises multiple well-known cruise brands that target distinct geographic and demographic markets.

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